TWIN FALLS, Idaho — After five months of restoration, historic stained glass windows with ties to Twin Falls' founders have returned to their home at the corner of 5th Avenue East and Idaho Avenue.
The windows, part of what was originally the First Baptist Church built in 1905, have been completely rebuilt and reinstalled, preserving a piece of the city's history.
Watch to see the historic windows' homecoming!
"It's very kind of fulfilling when you take out an old window that looks dirty and dingy and broken, and we're able to bring it back — put it in and just seeing the church members' faces when we bring it back," said Darren Belcher, restoration specialist.
Belcher and his assistant Osvaldo worked quickly to reinstall the windows, which have connections to one of Twin Falls' early leading ladies, Hortense Perrine.
"Missus Perrine, it was her passion apparently," said Ray Strolberg, a longtime associate of the church.
The building now houses Rock Creek Community Church, where the congregation faced a difficult decision as the windows aged – either restore them or remove them entirely.
Church member Vera Reed didn't want to see the historic fixtures disappear and contributed significantly to their restoration.
"We're really proud of those, because they are so old and have lasted this long. And as far as I know, they have never been repaired," Reed said.
The windows were removed in March and sent to Willit Studios stained glass workshop in Minnesota for complete restoration.
"Then it goes to what we call the tank, it gets taken completely apart. The glass all gets cleaned. Then it goes to the glazers and we completely rebuild this window," Belcher said.
When asked about the lifespan of the newly restored windows, Belcher confidently replied, "Oh, they'll outlive me now."
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
